San Diego's Toni Atkins Selected to be New Assembly Speaker

On Tuesday, January 21, news released that majority leader Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) had enough support from Democratic colleagues to become the new speaker of the California General Assembly. This means Atkins will succeed John A. Perez (D-Los Angeles) and increase the influence Southern California has in the California Legislature.

Liberal Arts Education: Looking Beyond the First Job

I majored in English. Three times. And for thirteen years I had to fend off the question, “what are you going to do with that?” The truth is, I didn’t really know. It didn’t seem important at the time. I liked reading books and writing about them, and I read the paper every day looking for examples of English majors starving to death. None ever did, so I was pretty sure that I was always going to find a way to eat.

And I did.

CA's 52nd Congressional District Will Be Decided By Independent Voters

Everybody loves a good competition. The upcoming election in California’s 52nd congressional district is likely to be a close one. With the candidate filing deadline only a month away, Democratic incumbent

Scott Peters is preparing to defend his position from Republican challenger Carl Demaio. Many will recognize Demaio as the candidate who lost the San Diego mayoral election to Bob Filner just over a year ago.

Republicans Seize Opportunity to Take Open Iowa Senate Seat

Democrats have to maintain yet another open seat in Congress after Iowa U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D), announced that he would not seek re-election in 2014. The move has brought a flurry of potential GOP nominees with the intention of taking the seat from the Democrats.

Harkin announced his retirement in January 2013, claiming that his age, 81, was the main reason for his departure. A Democrat with a staunchly liberal voting record, Harkin has been in the Senate since 1985.

Passing A Consolidated Spending Bill Does Not Signal A Changed Congress

The House and Senate passed a consolidated appropriations bill for the final six months of the fiscal year, circumventing the formal appropriations process. The extreme voices on both sides of the aisle appear to have quieted down. The leadership in the House of Representatives has stated immigration reform will be taken up in the lower chamber in 2014. The 2014 mid-term elections campaign season must be in full swing.

In the week since Congress passed a consolidated spending bill, political pundits are asking if this is a sign of greater cooperation in 2014.

CA's 31st Congressional District Remains Highly Competitive under "Top-Two"

In 2012, California’s 31st Congressional District was the site of one of the most competitive congressional races in the country and it is expected to be so again in 2014. The incumbent, U.S. Representative Gary Miller (R), has served in Congress since 1998, but has represented three different districts. He started in the 41st District, which then became the 42nd District following the 2000 Census. In 2010, the Census again displaced Miller -- this time to the 31st District.

Until 2012, Miller was accustomed to handily winning elections.